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On Monday, April 6, 2020, AFT-Maryland sent this open letter to Gov. Larry Hogan regarding local and state public employees in the state of Maryland.

AFT-Maryland is a federation of public employees that represents nearly 20,000 workers across the state of Maryland. Our members work in the fields of education, public safety, healthcare and more.

For follow-up or interviews with any local union leaders of AFT-Maryland please contact: Ray Baker, Director of Communication, AFT-Maryland, rbaker@aftmd.org.

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Welcome Back to a New School Year!

I can only imagine how excited everyone is for the start of the new school year. Although we enjoy our summer break there is no greater feeling than returning to our students and setting them on the path to success. I hope your summer break gave you the time to rest, reflect, and recharge. We are best able to pour into our scholars when we have taken the time to tend to ourselves. The time away from our students, while re-energizing, has also made us excited for their return to the classroom. Vacation was fun, but that does not mean that we also did not miss the joy that our students bring to our lives. 

As we embark on the 2023-24 school year, we do so knowing...

Read on for the rest of President Campbell's Back to School 2023 message > > >

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Labor unions are a team, just like the Baltimore Orioles, and on a humid Friday night in July Baltimore’s team of working people, the Metro Baltimore AFL-CIO, went to Camden Yards to cheer on Baltimore’s baseball team.

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One look around the country will easily remind someone how important education is and how valuable our teachers are. Teaching students truth and supporting the whole child seems straightforward to educators like us, but is a hotly contested debate currently raging throughout the nation. [...] Here in Maryland, we may not be faced with the same challenges peers across the country face, but educators still have an uphill battle every day. Click through for the full Teacher Appreciation Week message > > > MORE

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The Maryland Professional Employees Council (MPEC) Local 6197 recently wrapped up a successful and productive member outreach campaign. The initiative was a collaborative effort between the AFT-Maryland and the local union. During the campaign, staff from the state federation and the local were joined by member-activists who volunteered their time to connect with colleagues and potential members to inform them about the ongoing contract negotiations, to communicate the union’s priorities, and to encourage those who were not members to join the union.  

Read on for more about the member engagement blitz...

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“I’m going to tell you a story about the oldest profession… storytelling. What else could you have thought?” said Elliot Bales, a member of SAG-AFTRA as he opened his remarks. One would think a rally in support of striking workers might start with a sad or more militant tone, but not when the striking workers are also some of the most creative and expressive workers in our society. The SAG-AFTRA Washington Mid-Atlantic local hosted a rally at the office of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) local 487 in Baltimore. Local labor leaders and supporters from across the city came out to stand in solidarity and show their support. 

Click through to read...

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At the height of the pandemic the nation took notice of the valuable role that nurses play in our society. The high point of clanging pots and pans to celebrate healthcare professionals may be behind us, but the invaluable work nurses do on a daily basis is not forgotten by the communities they serve nor by the labor movement. AFT-Maryland is proud to celebrate all of the public health nurses in our federation that help keep our state and local communities safe and healthy.  Happy Nurses Appreciation Week! CLICK FOR > > > MORE

Black History Month programs have been taking place since Dr. Carter G. Woodson implored Americans to learn and celebrate African-American history back in 1926. The students, faculty, and staff of Garrett Heights Elementary-Middle School (GHEMS) continued in Dr. Woodson’s tradition with a robust celebration involving songs, poems, dances, and skits. The students in the K-8 school, under the guidance of music teacher and member Taniyah Moses, put on a show that the auditorium full of family and friends delightfully enjoyed. Moses found it particularly heartwarming to see the number of families and friends in the audience. She said the presence of so many loved ones in the audience shows that families “really care, they love our children, and they support our children, and that’s what is most important here at GHEMS.” AFT-Maryland’s team attended to support the students and continue the work of building home libraries and improving literacy among students in Baltimore city. As a part of the Reading Opens the World initiative from AFT, the state federation distributed age-appropriate books that would support and echo many of the stories and lessons shared during the Black History Month program. CLICK TO READ > > > MORE